TEHRAN, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Tuesday that the new round of nuclear talks between Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany (G5+1) will start "soon."
Mehmanparast told reporters in his weekly press briefing that a number of countries have announced to host the talks, but the decisions on the venue and time have not been finalized yet.
"All countries can enjoy the privileges of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes within the framework of the Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) regulations," he added.
Asked about Iran's position in the talks over the amount of uranium to be enriched by the Islamic republic, he responded that "The amount of uranium to be enriched for peaceful purposes is a technical issue and it should be decided by experts... The enrichment is the right of the countries as far as it does not threat the peaceful (nuclear) activities."
He rejected claims that Iran has tried to clean up radioactive traces due to the probable nuclear weapon tests at Parchin military site.
Such news is propaganda and does not have technical value, he said, adding that "If nuclear activities are done in some regions, the traces cannot be cleaned up."
A report released by the International Atomic Energy Agency ( IAEA) in late February said that Iran failed to cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog's high-ranking delegation who visited Tehran twice in January and earlier in February.
IAEA Director Yukiya Amano said in a statement that "During both the first and second meetings, the agency's team requested access to the military site at Parchin, but Iran did not grant the permission."
Amano called Iran's refusal to permit the visit to Parchin as " disappointing," saying that the IAEA believes that Parchin is where Iran's suspicious nuclear activities are carried out.
Later reports said that satellite images from the trucks and vehicles moving at Parchin military site have raised suspicions that, following the IAEA's urgent request to visit the site, Iran might have started to clean up the area from the radioactive traces.
However, Mehmanparast said Tuesday that the IAEA's experts should have stayed in Tehran longer to decide the modality of the visit.
"In principle, Iran did not have any disagreement with the visit (to Parchin military site), but any cooperation between Iran and the IAEA should be based on a modality," said the spokesman.
"The agency raises some questions. Iran is ready to answer those questions and Iran has announced its readiness to remove any ambiguities," he added.
Related:
WASHINGTON, March 7 (Xinhua) -- The White House said on Wednesday that Washington will judge Iran by its actions as the world powers agree to resume negotiations over its disputed nuclear program.
"We will demand that Iran live up to its international obligations, that it provide verifiable assurances it is not pursuing a nuclear weapon," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters aboard Air Force One en route Charlotte, North Carolina. Full story
VIENNA, March 9 (Xinhua) -- The six countries that used to engage in Iran nuclear talks on Thursday called on Iran to enter fresh dialogues "without preconditions."
The six countries -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States -- made the call in a joint statement at a board meeting of the 35-member International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Full story
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Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Iran, G5+1 to resume nuclear talks "soon": spokesman
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